The Karnataka Devadasis (Prohibition of Dedication) Act, 1982

In force 12 sections Karnataka

Act 1 of 1984

Preamble

THE KARNATAKA DEVADASIS (PROHIBITION OF DEDICATION) ACT, 1982. ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS. Sections: 1. Short title and extent. 2. Definitions. 3. Dedication as devadasi to be unlawful. 3A. Power of district magistrate or executive magistrate to issue injunction prohibiting dedication 3B. Rescue, care, protection, welfare and rehabilitation of woman 3C. Offences to be cognizable and nonbailable 3D. Appointment of Devadasi Dedication Prohibition Officer 3E. Devadasi Dedication Prohibition Officers to be public servants 4. Marriage of devadasi. 5. Penalty. 6. Protection of action taken in good faith. 7. Power to make rules. 8. Repeal. gode STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS I Act 1 of 1984 .- The Devadasi Abolition Act of Bombay State and a similar Act of Madras Government are in force in the Bombay Karnataka Area and in Bellary District respectively. It was also found that in some parts of Karnataka the Devadasi System is still in force and the women who are inducted to this system are in a pitiable condition and this has led them to take up prostitution for a living. Therefore it is found necessary to bring forward a legislation to minimise this social evil and to rehabilitate the victims. Dedication of a woman as Devadasi is made an offence and in order to make the provisions more effective, higher punishment is provided for a person abetting the offence if he happens to be the parent, guardian or relative of the woman. Hence the Bill. (Published in the Karnataka Gazette Part IV-2A (Extraordinary) No. 75 dated 3-2- 1982 at page 5.) II Amending Act 1 of 2010 .- It is considered necessary to amend the Karnataka Devadasis (Prohibition of Dedication) Act, 1982,- (1) to empower the district magistrate or executive magistrate to issue injunction prohibiting likelihood of taking place of dedication to devadasis. (2) to provide for the rescue, care, protection welfare and rehabilitation of woman from dedication. (3) to provide that the offences under this Act are cognizable and non-bailable. (4) to provide for the appointment of Devadasis dedication prohibition officers with powers to prevent such dedication. Hence, the Bill. (L.A.Bill No. 4 of 2009, File No. Samvyashe 08 Shasana 2008) [Entries 1, 2, 5 and 23 of List III of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India.] KARNATAKA ACT NO. 1 OF 1984 (First published in the Karnataka Gazette Extraordinary on the Thirty-first day of January, 1984) THE KARNATAKA DEVADASIS (PROHIBITION OF DEDICATION) ACT, 1982 (Received the assent of the President on the eleventh day of January, 1984) (As amended by Karnataka Act 1 of 2010) An Act to prevent dedication of women as devadasis in the State of Karnataka. WHEREAS the practice of dedicating women as devadasis to deities, idols, objects of worship, temples and other religious institutions or places of worship exists in certain parts of the State of Karnataka ; AND whereas such practice leads women so dedicated to a life of prostitution; AND whereas it is expedient to put an end to the practice ; BE it enacted by the Karnataka State Legislature in the Thirty-third Year of the Republic of India as follows :-

Sections

Type to filter. 12 sections.

Provenance. Read from the Government's own scanned gazette with Azure Document Intelligence, then split into sections by their numbering. India Code publishes no text for this Act. The scan itself is mirrored into our own storage and served at /scan/e876461e-35e6-4581-a419-cbb493ca6cb1.pdf, so the reading here can be checked against the page it came from without depending on India Code's own copy staying where it is (it was at https://indiacode.gov.in/server/api/core/bitstreams/ae4ca36a-269a-4f46-97a0-2626e4830ef1/content).

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Every one of the 12 sections of this Act has its own page. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.